WELCOME BACK from the holidays! I hope everyone is refreshed from the time off... we are hitting the midpoint of the school year and want to have the energy to keep moving full STEAM ahead! Outside weather during the months of January and February is deceptive of what is going on inside learning institutions. During the next two months we will have students taking Regents exams, we will hit the 100th day of school (on February 14th, barring no more snow days), and students at the high school level will complete their first semester course work. Elementary students will continue to be working on their reading and math fluency incentive programs... the more they read and the more math facts they master, the more points they can earn towards ¨purchasing¨ prizes at the school´s store.

Of course, are not all about academics in the traditional sense. Our high school chorus members have been prepping for the All-County Chorus music festival which will be hosted here at Groton on Saturday, January 19th. Our high school drama program has been working diligently since the return from break on the musical production Annie which they will be performing the weekend of March 15th. And, of course, we have several sporting events happening almost nightly, between both the modified and jv/varsity level basketball and wrestling programs.

We are a community school and we openly invite all of you to join us at any of these events. You can always see what we have going on by going to the main page of our newly designed website at www.grotoncs.org.

Capital Project Update as of January 2019: The Groton Jr-Sr High foyer renovation is complete! If you click on the image to the right, you will be redirected to a screen that highlights some of the renovations that have been done.

Much of the initial construction work at both buildings and the bus garage is now complete, and the contractors are working through their final punch lists. We did have a set back in late November from a flood caused by faulty installation of heating pipes. Work to repair the damage done by this flood will begin in the very near future with the goal of having the entire project wrapped up by early July, as there is some work that can only be performed when students are not in session.

The STEAM Learning Center is one of the areas impacted by the flood damage, so there is still work to be completed there. WE have been able to hold classes there, however, and are excited to announce we will be expanding the program offerings in that space for the 2019-2020 school year by adding an agriculture program. It is our goal to provide students with the exposure to careers needed in the Groton and surrounding community so that when they graduate and have completed their post-secondary education, they are able to return to this area and find viable jobs that will allow them to settle here and raise a family.